


So Many Words

by sirenofodysseus



Series: Detriment [3]
Category: The Mentalist
Genre: Gen, Job Loss, Spoilers for Season 5
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-02
Updated: 2013-01-02
Packaged: 2017-11-23 08:06:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/619903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sirenofodysseus/pseuds/sirenofodysseus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She was only Ms. Teresa Lisbon, an unemployed workaholic. Team!fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	So Many Words

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this to fill my H/C bingo prompt of job loss. 
> 
> Spoilers for 5x05, Red Dawn. This fic is set after 4x24, The Crimson Hat.

Playing with the fraying ends on her throw blanket, Teresa Lisbon mindlessly stared at the television screen. In a pair of gray sweatpants and a light blue shirt, she knew didn’t look her best; but what did it matter? Nobody was going to come and visit her, as everyone else _had_ a job.

 

_Of course_ , she thought resigned, _this was going to happen again; it was only a matter of time, until it was permanent_.

 

After all, when one worked with Patrick Jane, job loss was always a possible consequence. His continuing quest to murder Red John had dragged her down yet _another_ rabbit hole and in response, Gale Bertram hadn’t reacted too kindly. With Luther Wainwright dead and Susan Darcy on psychiatric leave, nobody (aside from the team) had thrown up much of a fit about the permanent loss of her job.

 

            _“You can be replaced, Ms. Lisbon.”_ Bertram had told her, after he had stripped her of her career. _“Good luck in all of your future endeavors, outside of the CBI.”_ His sweet smile, tinted with an edge of self-righteousness, had only reassured her that finding a new job would be nearly impossible.

 

And it was.

 

In the beginning, her record and reputation had been spotless. Teresa Lisbon had graduated from the top 10% of her class, she had been the _only_ female under the guidance of Samuel Bosco, she had been the one to arrest William McTeer, and she had been the youngest woman to lead a unit within the CBI.

 

Back then, Teresa Lisbon had been a woman blessed with many opportunities. If leading the Serious Crimes Unit hadn’t worked out, she had the chance to transfer out of the CBI and find another place of employment without any hard questions being asked.

 

All of that though, had been back _before_ the Red John case had graced her desk. Back before Patrick Jane had caught her attention with his crumpled attire and general state of weariness that seemed to cling to him. Back before every excuse for why she kept him around was, _he solves cases_.

 

He did solve cases. Jane’s placement within their unit had bestowed them with the highest closure rate in the CBI; but that success hadn’t taken away her hearing. She knew the other unit heads thought she couldn’t solve any case without Patrick Jane pulling at her pigtails, as the antics of the Serious Crimes Unit were wildly discussed amongst the other employees.

 

Often enough, she had passed their words off as petty jealousy. They could solve cases without Patrick Jane, without bending the rules, without stepping on the toes of law enforcement, but they _enjoyed_ having his help; he was one of them, and they were a family.

 

_But you’re not a part of that family anymore; you aren’t Senior Agent Teresa Lisbon anymore_ , a tiny voice reminded her and she grimaced. She was only Ms. Teresa Lisbon, an unemployed workaholic; a statement she both loathed admitting (even to herself) and knew contained an odd oxymoron.

 

The sound of her phone vibrating on her coffee table caught her attention and she leaned forward to claim the object in her fingers. It was almost midnight, which meant the text or call wasn’t job search related.

 

_Grace Van Pelt_ flashed across her screen. Without hesitation, she answered the phone.

 

            “Van Pelt, is everything…?”

 

            “It’s not Grace, Lisbon.” The voice of Patrick Jane interrupted her. She raised her eyebrows in response. Was he calling her from Grace’s phone, because he thought she was _angry_ with him for the loss of her job? “Between quitting my lousy paying job and standing outside your condominium building in the humid weather, I must have lost my phone _and_ your address number.”

 

Lisbon was speechless for a moment. Had Jane just said he had quit his job, one of the only things tethering him to catching Red John? Was the man _ill_? Instead of asking him to clarify his words, she merely rattled off her condominium number and stood from her couch to glance around the small room; her living room wasn’t a complete disaster area, aside from a few water glasses scattered across the shelves.

 

            “Open up, Lisbon.” Lisbon heard from outside of her front door, before she crossed the small distance to the front of her home and threw it open to find the entire team, standing outside her doorway. “I hope you don’t mind that I brought guests; don’t worry though, they’re still employed.” The large smile on Jane’s face made her wonder if his, “ _they’re still employed_ ” commenthad a silent, “ _for now_ ” attached to it. She said nothing, as she waved her entire team into her home with a questioning glance toward Jane. “Now, I’m going to make a cup of tea. Does anybody want anything else?” Van Pelt, Cho and Rigsby shook their heads in response to his question.

 

She only rolled her eyes, watching the man saunter off toward her kitchen. He _would_ be one of the few people, who could be both the visitor and the host within her own home. Carefully, she turned back to face her old team; all three of them had managed to make themselves comfortable on her couch.

 

            “What are you all doing here?” Lisbon questioned. Nobody said anything. “Jane didn’t drag you down here with some ill-constructed scheme to get my job back, did he?” The last ill-constructed scheme to get her job back had almost resulted in the suspension of _everyone_ on the unit.

 

            “We’re here to make sure he actually apologizes.” Cho finally answered her. Lisbon eyed him, nonplussed. Anyone around Jane long enough, knew the man tended not to apologize well; his _I’m sorry_ typically consisted of her gaining her job back, _after_ he had meddled with the power players within and outside the CBI. 

 

            “Yeah.” Rigsby replied in agreement, while she watched him nod. “We’ve been giving him hell for you.”

 

Lisbon stared at them all in disbelief.

 

            “Don’t look so surprised, Lisbon.” Jane’s voice called from her kitchen and she turned to find him, leaning against her kitchen doorway wall. “I tried telling them that I apologized, but they all took things to epic proportions. I’m the innocent party in all of this, if I have to be completely honest.” The wide smile still on his face told her otherwise, but she wasn’t about to push the subject. Jane’s antics weren’t her entire concern anymore.

 

            “Sure, you are.” Lisbon gave back, dryly, before she turned to glance at her team. “Guys, Jane _did_ apologize.”

 

Van Pelt eyed her. “Did he actually say he was sorry?”

 

            “Not in so many words,” Lisbon said, as she brought her arms against her chest. “But he’s Jane; not in so many words is his forte.”

 

She heard Jane sputter from behind her. “I know how to say I’m sorry, Lisbon. Haven’t you been getting my text messages?” Lisbon pinched the bridge of her nose. “I said I was sorry in every single one of them…”

 

            “In different languages.” Lisbon interrupted. “You said you were sorry in every language _but_ English.”  

 

            “I’m showing my diversity.” Jane explained. Lisbon heard him approaching and she turned to find him sipping at one of her teacups. “After all, how often does one have the chance to apologize in different languages?”

 

            “This is exactly why we’re here.” Rigsby responded. “Your so-called diversity isn’t going to help her get a job, Jane.”

 

            “Obviously not.” Jane agreed, taking another sip of his tea. “Whether Lisbon agrees with my method or not, I quit my job to help her find a new one.” Lisbon furrowed her eyebrows. “Who knows? Maybe she’ll even be able to find one with a better dental plan.”

 

            “Your concern for my teeth is touching, Jane.” Lisbon answered. “But how is quitting your job beneficial?”

 

Jane beamed. “It’s simple, really.”

 

            “Which means,” Cho said, “it isn’t simple at all.” Lisbon watched Jane shake his head, before he set his teacup down on her coffee table with a flourish. He glanced back up at her, still with a smile.

 

            “What if I told you I was starting my own business?”

 

            “I would ask: what could you possibly know about starting or running a business?” Lisbon asked. Jane was an intelligent individual, but he didn’t think things through; it took time, patience, contacts, and money to start anything within the business world. “And is it completely legal?”

 

            “If you’re asking whether or not I’m conducting a meth lab in my basement, Lisbon, the answer is no. I’m also not leading any underground prostitute rings, any spiritual cults to rival Bret Stiles and I’m not becoming a psychic again, as the shiny suits just aren’t me anymore.” Jane flashed his smile toward her and she rolled her eyes. They had all seen pictures of Jane as a psychic; the shiny suits, horrible ties, and bad hair hadn’t worked for him then either. “The business prospect is completely legal; the documents I procured, even say it’s completely legal.”

 

            “Documents?”

 

Lisbon watched Jane remove a bundle of papers from his jacket, before he handed them over to her. “Before you open those,” he caught her eyes, “keep in mind that nothing is set in stone.” She opened the bundle of papers and scanned them with her eyes, surprise forming across her face.

 

            “How long?”

 

            “Three years.” Jane explained. “This idea started forming after you told me I’d be the reason for your job loss.” He sheepishly shrugged. “I meant what I said to Madeleine, Lisbon; if you’re happy, I’m happy.  Being the reason for your job loss made me unhappy, so I did what I thought was right; I quit my job and bought a building.” Lisbon smiled. Cause or not, his kindness _did_ touch her. “You’re my best friend. You couldn’t honestly think I’d just let them toss you under the bus, without some sort of plan B. Did you?”

 

The thought had briefly crossed her mind, but she wasn’t about to tell him that. “Thank you, Jane. I appreciate the offer, but…”

 

            “I need a partner, Lisbon.” Jane interrupted her. “After all, what would Batman have been without Robin?”  Lisbon said nothing. “And it isn’t like you have anything better to do. Think of all the good we could do as private investigators; it would be like old times, just with a better pay rate and better job security.”

 

            “He probably wouldn’t be better behaved though,” Lisbon heard Rigsby mutter and she couldn’t help but laugh.

 

            “I only ever misbehaved, because the justice system is full of red tape and safety scissors.” Jane informed them all. “Have you ever tried cutting red tape with safety scissors? It’s difficult and can cause blisters named Gale Bertram.”

 

            “The justice system is _not_ full of red tape.” Lisbon argued and Jane raised his eyebrows. Sure, there were _many_ criminals (Red John was the first criminal to come to mind) who deserved the death penalty and more; but it wasn’t their job to dispense that kind of cold-blooded justice. They all couldn’t be vigilantes with hidden agendas, after all. “You were also misbehaving long before Bertram entered the picture, Jane.”

 

Cho and Rigsby nodded in agreement, before Rigsby spoke up. “You misbehaved _before_ we all formally met, Jane. What was your excuse then?”

 

            “I wanted to work with the best.” Jane answered with a wide grin. “And you all, even though you refused to work outside the system at first, were the best of the best. The CBI made a significant mistake in firing one of their best agents; hopefully, they won’t figure that out too late.” Murmurs of agreement sounded from Van Pelt, Rigsby and Cho.  

 

            “We also held onto the Red John case.” Cho added.

 

            “That’s merely a coincidence.” Jane waved his words away. Lisbon almost felt the need to point out there was no such thing as a coincidence, especially when it related to Patrick Jane and Red John. “If coincidence isn’t working for you, substituting the word technicality works too.” She saw his wink and she smiled again. “You don’t have to accept this offer today or even tomorrow, Lisbon, but an answer by Friday would be beneficial to setting up your exclusive insurance package.”

 

            “You and your odd insurance obsession.” Lisbon muttered, while Jane chuckled in response. She stared at him; she did need a new job (her bank account could only support so much), but was she desperate enough to accept employment from _Patrick Jane_ of all people to continue investigating others? Instead of giving him an immediate yes, which she (and probably he) knew would eventually happen, she merely continued to smile, “I’ll think about it, okay?” She watched his smile widen. “But that doesn’t mean I said yes, Jane.”

 

            “Oh, I know.” Jane reassured her. “However, it means my apology _in English_ has been accepted.”   

 

Van Pelt opened her mouth and Lisbon shook her head. It just really wasn’t worth the energy to convince Jane otherwise.


End file.
